Google brings voice search to iPhone

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 14 Nov 2008 at 12:42

Google has developed a new app for the iPhone that allows users to search the web using spoken commands.

According to a report in the New York Times, the app simply requires users to speak their search terms into the handset. This information is then converted into a digital file and pinged back to Google's servers which attempt to determine the spoken word. Once done it coverts it to a text search and enters it into the search engine.

However, the paper reports that the application is far from the finished article, occasionally returning "queries that appear as gibberish".

Microsoft has a competing voice search technology called TellMe, however, this service requires the user to define search areas and categories in order to provide context for the search. Google's ambitious effort ignores these guidelines, allowing users to enter any query they want.

The app will apparently be available through the iPhone apps store in the next few days free of charge.